Cribber and ballast remover



Jan. 26 1926.

Filed Oct. 2;

Fatented Jan. 26, 1926.

JOSEPH A. PARANT, OF MELROSE HIGHLANDS, MASSACHUSETTS.

CRIBIBER ANID' BALLAST REMOVER.

Application filed October 21, 1925. Serial No. 64,010.

To a whom it may concern.-

Be it "known that I, J osErH A. PARANT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Melrose Highlands, in the county ofMid dlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Cribber and Ballast Removers, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings representing like parts.

My present invention relates to maintenance of way devices, and more particularly to an improved method of, and apparatus for, replacing old ties and removing'the ballast from between the ties on a right of way.

The cost of replacing worn out ties or removing the ballast from between ties on a right of way for the purpose of removing therefrom dirt and other impurities represents one of the largest items of cost in the maintenance of the right of way. In renewing or replacing ties it is necessary to first perform the operation known as cribbing before the tie to be replaced can be removed from its position beneath the rails. This cribbing has been, up to the present,

essentially a hand operation as represented by pick and shovel work and is a slow, laborious, expensive operation. On rock ballast roads it is necessary to periodically remove the ballast from between the ties, sift the same to remove dirt and other impurities therefrom, and to then replace the sifted and cleaned ballast. I-Ieretofore this has been essentially a hand'operation, as represented by pick and shovel work, and is also slow, laborious and costly. In removing a tie for the purpose of replacing the same with another one, the space he- -tween such tie and an adjacent one is cleared of the ballest, whether sand, gravel, or rock, by means of pick and shovel, the material removed being piled up between or alongside the tracks. The crib extends to a plane usually two or three inches below the lower surface of the tie to be removed. The spikes are then removed from the. tie to be replaced and with a sledge or sledge and pick the tie to be removed is moved laterally of itself, or longitudinally with res set to the rails,v and. dropped into the crib Dropping the same into the crib lowers the upper surface of the tie below the plane in which lies the lower surface of the rails and the tie to be replaced may now be drawn out from under the rails. The replacin tie is then slid into the crib under the rai s, moved up into the position formerly occupied by the removedtie, enough ballast thrown into the edge of the crib to tamp the new tie into position, and the crib then filled up with the ballast, the tie spiked into place, and the job is complete. Various attempts have been made to substitute mechanical means for the manual means heretofore employed in this operationand none of them has been even moderately successful. That is, there has been too great an amount of hand work necessary in order to consider such methods of attack successful. I v

In my present invention I have overcome the-objections to prior methods, devised for performing work of this character, and have devised an eflicient method and apparatus to be used in connection therewith whereby the operation of cribbing may be rapidly and economically performed by mechanical means, the only manual work to be performed in connection therewith bem the slight scraping of the ballast latera ly of the crib as the crib is formed. In carrying out my invention I provide a plow adapted to move between adjacent ties and to be held in its lowermost position by the ties themselves, the plow being pulled from one end of the tie to the other by a mechanical winch or Windlass, and the plow is of such character as to ride the ballast up from the bottom of the crib to'the upper surface of the ties where it is readily scraped off on either side to thus leave the crib free and clear. My improved plow is of such character that any ballast that may fall back into the crib is caught on the lower surface of the plow itself, and after the plow has made a complete passage of the space between ties, this material last referred to may be dumped out therefrom. In' the case where it is desired not to replace ties, but to remove the ballast from between adjacent ties for the purpose of sifting the small particles of dirt therefrom, the plow works equally well and my invention is, therefore, applicable to this kind of work.

The principal object of m invention, therefore, is an improved met od of cribbin Another object of my invention is an improved apparatus for performing the opera-- tion of cribbing.

A. further obj ect of my invention is an improved ballast remover for removing the allast on a right of wayfrombetween adjacent ties.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of my invention of an apparatus for cribbing and ballast removing and by means of which my improved method may be practiced,

Fig.1 is a plan view of a section of track showing the cribber and ballast remover in position thereon;

Fig. 2is a vertical sectional elevation on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig.3is a sectional elevation on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 isa perspective view of my improved plow.

Referring to the drawings, 10 and 11 designate the usual rails lying para-llelto and spaced apart from each other and secured by the usual spikes 12, or by the usual spikes 12 in connection with tie plates 13, to the plurality of parallelly arranged ties 14:, 15, 16, 17 etc., that extend transversely of such rails.

Numeral 18 designates a wedge-shaped plow nose having formed integral therewith and extending laterally outward therefrom and at each side thereof lugs 19 of any desired length. Secured to the rear end of the bottom surface of the nose 18 by riveting, or in any other suitable manner, is a bottom plate 20, the extreme rear end 21 of which extends at right angles to the main portion 20. Secured to-the top surface of the wedgeshaped nose 18 and extending in the same plane as such top surface is a plate 22, such plate havingits rear portion 23 lying parallel to the plate 20 and terminating at a point substantially above the upwardly extending portion 21. Secured to the inner faces of the members 20 and 22 are spring devices 2 1 and 25 and by means of which the parallel portions 23 and 20 are yieldingly held in operative position with respect to each other.

Secured to the wedge-shaped nose portion 18 in any desired manner is a member 26 to which may be attached a cable, chain, or other device for dragging the plow structure.

Numerals 28 and 29 designate members lying at an angle to each other and at their converging ends being provided with bearing members 30 and 31 respectively, and in these bearing members is rotatably mounted a shaft 32. Secured to the shaft 32 between the bearings 30 and 31 is a drum 33, and secured to this drum is one end of a cable, chain, or otherdevice 34:. .This cable or other device 34; extends from the drum 33 and is attached to the member 26 on the plow nose 18. Secured to one of the heads of ,the drum 33 is a ratchet 35. Botat a'bly mounted on the shaft 32 is a lever 36, this lever having pivotally mounted thereon adjacent to its lower end a pawl 37 adapted to engage with the ratchet 35.

If it is desired to replace one of the ties 1 1-, 15,16, and 17, for example the tie 15, the ballasting between the ties 15 and 16, for example, is removed at the extremeright of such ties to allowtheplow 18 carrying the plates 20 and 22to be positioned with-respectthereto so that the laterally extending lugs 19 on the nose 18 will engage with the under surface of theties 15 and 16, as clearly shown in Fig.3. vAss the, tie 15 is the one to be removed and replaced, theplow nose 18 W1tl 1 the plates'20 and 22 is preferably placed closely adjacent ,to such tie 15, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The members 28 and 29, carrying-the shaft 32, drum'33, andoperatinglever 36, isnow placed inposition to bring the cable 3t leading fromthe drum 33 under the rails 10 and 11 and to engage with the-member 26. Onemannow operates the lever 36 to cause the cable 34 to pull the plow longitudinally of the-tie 15 and another workman, as-the plow moves along the tie 15, scrapes the ballast that slides up on thetop surface of the nose 18 andup on the plate 22 to one side or the other of the plow so asto leave the crib formed thereby free of any ballast. Should any ballastfall down between the plate 22 and the crib being formed, itwill be; caught on the upper surface of the plate 20 and theupwardly turned portion 21 thereof will prevent such ballast falling ed the plate 20 and into the crib being formed. When the plow has been moved entirely along the length of the tie 15, the spikes 12, or the spikes 12 and thetieplates 13, areremoved from the tie 15 which is-then struck with the sledge or pick so as to move the same toward the tie 16 when it will drop into the crib above referred to and designated by the numeral 38. It is obvious .that the tie 15, once being in the crib 38, may be moved logitudinally and out from under the rails 10 and 11. The tie to replace the tie 15 is now moved into position under the rails 10 and 11 within the crib through which it is easily forced into the position formerly occupied by the tie 15 when it may be tamped imposition, fitted with tie plates 13 and spikes 12, or the spikes 12 alone, and the ballastremoved from between the ties 15 and 16 to form the crib is now replaced in the usual manner.

If it is desired simply to remove the ballast from between adjacent ties, as the ties 15 and 16, for the purpose of sifting therefrom fine dirt, sand, and the like, inthe case of rock ballast, the operation abovev d escribed for forming the crib is performed, and as the ballast is moved laterally of the crib, it may be shoveled and thrown onto the screen to remove the sand or dirt after which it may be replaced in the crib which is thus filled up.

I find that, by the use of my improved method and apparatus, the cost of replacing worn out or defective ties on a right of way is reduced by more than one half and, in the case of removing ballast for the purpose of sifting the same, the saving in cost is considerably more. With my invention, therefore, I am able to materially reduce the cost of maintenance of way.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. An improved apparatus for cribbing and ballast removing comprising a plow, means associated therewith for preventing upward movement thereof, a Windlass, a cable attached to said Windlass at one end and attached to the plow at the other.

2. An improved plow for performing the operations of cribbing and ballast removing on railroad right of ways comprising a wedge-shaped nose, laterally extending projections formed thereon and at each side thereof,'and extensions formed on said nose and extending rearwardly thereof.

3. An improved plow for performing the operations of cribbing and ballast removing on railroad right of ways comprising a Wedge-shaped nose, laterally extending projections formedthereon and at each side thereof, extensions formed on said nose and extending rearwardly thereof, and means for yieldingly supporting said rearward extensions with respect to each other.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOSEPH A. PARANT. 

